Sens. Andy Gardiner and Mike Haridopolos introduced two amendments to a bill in the Florida House of Representatives that would restrict women’s access to abortion. The bill and the two amendments passed in the House and Senate last week. Florida now waits for Gov. Charlie Crist to either sign or veto the bill, which has not yet come to his desk. Once it does, he has 15 days to decide.
The first amendment would require women seeking an abortion in the first trimester to view an ultrasound and hear a description of the embryo. Victims of rape or incest, if they can provide proof, are excused from the explanation but still must have the ultrasound. The second amendment would not allow state or local government funds to cover abortions, which would include any insurance plans bought with tax credits. The amendments added to the bill, House Bill 1143, never went through a committee or heard public comment. Crist is certainly hearing public comment now; more than 21,000 calls have been reported.
We need to demand that Crist veto this bill because it interferes with a woman’s right to an abortion. Women have had to fight to defend this right since before Roe v. Wade, and since that decision attempts have been made at both the state and federal level to chip away at abortion rights until it becomes inaccessible to most women. These amendments are just the most recent attempt.
Abortion is already extremely restricted in Florida. Seventy percent of counties in Florida don’t have an abortion provider. Proponents of the amendments say using public funds to pay for abortions is wrong.
However, the state of Florida uses public funding to subsidize “crisis pregnancy centers” that encourage women not to have abortions through guilt, judgment and often times false information.
Without the ability to control our bodies, women can never have the same control over the direction of our lives as men. We are the experts of our lives, and the choice of when and if we have children belongs to us.
Join us in calling Gov. Crist at 850-488-4441 and demand that he veto House Bill 1143.
Katie Walters is the vice chairwoman to the Gainesville Women’s Liberation organization.
